Parent Advocacy: Being a Voice for your Child

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By Lorraine Kirlew, Macaulay Child Development Centre

More than a Haircut Sessions on Parent Advocacy –Speaking for Your Child, was a new topic to share with participants at the barbershops. To the group’s delight persons at all 4 sessions were engaged in spirited, honest and informative discussions…
Participants thought that the topic Parent Advocacy –Speaking for Your Child, was timely and relevant, and that there were important points they wanted to express and share with each other.
A father at the session on Friday May 3rd wanted fathers to understand that it is not enough to drop off and pick up your child/ren at school. He felt that it is important for fathers to develop relationships with other parents, teachers and people working at the school. In fact, he noted that “if you do not follow up with the school you may see your children ‘fall down’”. Then you may be correcting a problem that could have been avoided. As a father, “make a shift, become part of the conversations”.
There were at times 2 sides to the topic Continue reading →

Black Educators and Business Leaders Are Standing Up For Your Kids

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by Dalton Higgins, Macaulay Child Development Centre

Whoever thinks African-Canadian men and/or fathers aren’t diligently organizing themselves to become more committed community leaders and educators – outside of media sightlines – just aren’t tapped into the community beat. I was reminded of the tremendous efforts us brothers and our supporters of all stripes are engaged in when I recently attended the Stand Up: Young Men’s Conference that aimed to redefine “the colour of success” for our kids, with a focus on black and racialised boys.
A large group of anxious middle school kids from different parts of Toronto gathered at George Brown College on May 1st to be inspired by an awesome Continue reading →

The Importance of Owning Up to your Mistakes

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By Shaka Licorish, Macaulay Child Development Centre
adapted from http://www.artofmanliness.com/2013/02/19/how-to-own-up-to-mistakes/

As individuals, not just as men or fathers, we can be prone to making mistakes for any number of reasons – it’s part of our life’s learning. However, it will be your ability to acknowledge and make sense of your mistakes that is likely to have a lasting affect with your family, friends, loved ones and employers, co-workers, colleagues and business partners.

Before we address why owning up to your mistakes is important, we first have to develop a sense of what prevents us from coming forward when we actually Continue reading →

Spring into Health: Uncovering Toonie Tuesday Meal Deals & No Cost Exercise Rituals

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By Dalton Higgins, Macaulay Child Development Centre

Spring is here, and you know what that means, right fellas? It means it’s time to shed the thick jackets, bulky sweaters and big boots, and exchange them for sneakers, floral shirts and chinos.
As warmer weather appears on the horizon, it doesn’t mean that our stresses will magically go away, but what it does mean is that the barriers or “excuses” we use to not get into shape (eg. bad weather, no gym membership) or eat healthier (eg. Toonie Tuesday fried chicken meals are a great deal!) might start to wear thin. That’s right. It’s a time to ask ourselves some tough questions around our general fitness levels and dietary consumption. As parents, our kids mimic what we do, so we have to look at these things with a critical eye.

For example, if we are to be honest with ourselves, Continue reading →

Do You Know What Music Your Kids Are Listening To?

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By Dalton Higgins, Macaulay Child Development Centre

If you check out the social media pages of large numbers of middle to high school kids, it becomes pretty obvious quickly that their parents have no idea what kinds of music their kids are raving about online. There are boatloads of songs going viral that contain very extreme vulgarities and profanities galore.

As a parent, I’m no prude, and I do understand that the music our kids listen to will sound harsh to our ears on occasion and that protecting everyone’s right to Freedom of Expression is important. Certainly, when most parents were growing up as youth, oftentimes the music they listened to was deemed outrageous by their own parents. However, I had to draw the line recently when I heard a song called “U.O.E.N.O” Continue reading →

Are You A Dapper Dad?

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By Dalton Higgins, Macaulay Child Development Centre

When did you start “dressing like a dad” (whatever that means)? Do clothes make the man, or dad? Is the term “fashionable father” an oxymoron? And is there a time when you’ve ever felt that what you’re wearing just doesn’t jive with what’s in style, or trending with your kids? I would say absolutely, to the latter question! Sometimes I get into debates with my teenage daughter about what’s hot, and what’s not, and it’s a debate I’m not sure I can ever win. If in fact Continue reading →

March Break: What’s A Dad to Do?

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By Dalton Higgins, Macaulay Child Development Centre

March Break is here, and we as dads can either collectively panic about what to do as our kids have escaped their asylums for a week (cue Twilight Zone theme music), twiddle our thumbs, or take a “staycation” and do nothing. Or we can be proactive and source out some of the many free or low cost activities in Toronto to keep our seedlings busy and hope that their brains don’t go to mush over this five day period.

Sadly, a too large bulk of publicly funded institutions might look at March Break as a cash grab. Have you seen some of the outrageous Continue reading →

Sorry, Your Nest Might Not Be Emptying Anytime Soon

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By Dalton Higgins, Macaulay Child Development Centre

Once my daughter officially became a teenager, the wifey and I began to plot out some future adulthood scenarios for her. After assessing how familial units are functioning these days, we came to this conclusion. It doesn’t look like our nest will be emptying out anytime soon, and we’re not complaining. What selfish parent doesn’t want to have their kids around the house as long as is humanly possible? If you’re surprised by my lax approach to the children of today gaining full independence Continue reading →

Roots: Black My Story, Not His-story

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by Dalton Higgins, Macaulay Child Development Centre

During February black community members in Toronto have had plenty of concentrated time to investigate seminal moments in history that help inform our present day situation. That’s a good thing, given that if you want to figure out your future, you have to know your past. Or you might end up like that cliché, a tree without strong roots. Now why not take this line of thinking one step further, and take the time to trace your own family tree as an exercise, and introduce your children to their lineage and family history.

How exciting would that be to have your child learn more about their own father, and then their father’s father (great grandfather) Continue reading →